If you were impressed by the Halo: Infinite gameplay reveal during Thursday's Xbox Games Showcase, you might be completely floored by how the game will look a year from now. According to 343 Industries, Infinite will be receiving a ray tracing update some time after launch, and it'll come at no cost at all.
This is all a part of 343's intention to establish Infinite as the beginning of a brand new era for the Halo franchise. With no sequel in mind, the game's developers are planning to continually add to the title for as long a decade, and a ray tracing update will be one of the earliest stages of that plan.
Ray tracing is essentially a rendering method that fully realizes the full affect lighting would have on an object. Although it sounds simple in nature, the technique is widely being used to give games a more realistic edge, and the end result speaks for itself.
Seeing what ray tracing is able to accomplish for a game with an art style and graphical capacity as simplistic as Minecraft, one can only imagine what the technology is going to be able to do with next generation titles. If you thought Xbox Series X Master Chief looked good already, just wait until you see him once this update is applied.
This is just one of the ways that 343 Industries plans to ensure the longevity of Halo: Infinite. The game won't be live service like Destiny 2, but technological updates will be continually added to hopefully keep things as contemporary as possible.
Along with that, players can expect more story content to come down the road as well. Infinite's campaign will certainly remain as the primary focus, but additional content, most likely in the form of DLC, will work to continue the narrative and maybe even expand on the game's open world.
That being said, the success of Halo: Infinite will truly be determined when the game is finally released alongside the next generation of Xbox. Still, 343 Industries seems to have some big plans for the game, and this could all mean that Halo will be coming back in a big way.
Source: IGN